


The Edge

by TVgirll1971



Category: Whiskey Cavalier (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-23
Updated: 2020-05-26
Packaged: 2021-03-03 02:07:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,144
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24307171
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/TVgirll1971/pseuds/TVgirll1971
Summary: Will is taken prisoner during a mission and interrogated. Though he's saved, the aftereffect is hard for him to shake off.
Relationships: Will Chase/Frankie Trowbridge
Comments: 4
Kudos: 11





	1. Going to the Edge

It was supposed to be a simple mission. Infiltrate a high stakes card game. Will was posing as a high roller at a casino in Shanghai. It went according to plan with Will successfully winning not only General Chen’s money but his watch as well. As expected, General Chen called for a break In the game which gave Will time to hand the watch off to Frankie who took it to a private room so that Jai could install a tracker. What no one counted on was Chen being such a sore loser. Incensed at having lost his money, Chen, with his men, approached Will in the hallway and accused him of cheating.

"You go all in with three of a kind--against a flush?!" Chen asked angrily when Will insisted that he didn’t cheat.

"You didn't have a flush." Will pointed out.

"But you couldn't know that." the general stated. "Unless you had an accomplice." The fact that Will didn't have the watch on him seemed to lend credence to that theory and the General ordered his men to take Will away to a private room. Though the team saw the whole exchange on surveillance cameras, they couldn't intervene.

“What a sec? We’re just going to leave him there?” Standish asked incredulously. 

“We don’t have a choice.” Frankie explained. “The mission is to put a tracker on the General. Rescuing Will now would compromise the mission.” She then turned to Jai “How are you coming with the tracker.” 

“Almost done implanting it in the watch.” Jai replied. 

“Thank God!” Standish blurted out. “Then we can save Will? Right?” 

“Technically, we can’t save Will until the watch is actually in the General’s hands.” Jai pointed out. “it’s not like we can hand it to him.” 

“No,” Frankie said, looking at Standish “That’s why we have Plan B, remember?” 

Standish shrugged and nodded, “Frame the General’s head guy by planting the watch in his room. I remember.” 

“Good.” Frankie answered. "Don't worry. Will knows how to handle these types of situations. He'll be fine." Frankie tried to assure Standish as well as herself. 

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Don’t worry, Will. We’ll get you as soon as we can. Hang tight.” Will heard Susan say over comms as he was tied to a chair. When physical torture failed to provide the name of Will’s accomplice, the interrogator decided to get at the truth another way and injected Will with a rather potent type of heroin. A feeling of euphoria rushed over Will but he remained firm and insisted that he had no accomplice. Meanwhile, Susan continued to comfort him—assuring him he’d be okay and they’d get him soon. “Just concentrate on the sound of my voice.” Will was injected again and warned of the dangers of an overdose. 

Will kept his mouth shut which earned him another injection. "At best, you'll spend the next week craving more of this. At worse, this next shot will kill you." Will started flying high at this point. Suddenly, he heard Susan’s voice in his head again and repeated the name she gave him to his interrogator 

In short order, the General’s top lieutenant was taken by the General’s men when the watch was discovered in the safe of his room. Meanwhile, Will’s euphoria was getting stronger and he had a vision of Frankie rescuing him—bursting into the room and shooting his captor.

He realized it wasn’t a vision when Frankie started untying him. As she hustled Will towards the exit, he spotted the drug-filled syringes near the door, he grabbed a handful of vials and put them in his pocket without her noticing. 

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The next day was Phase 2 of the mission—tracking the General to his meeting with a high level American asset. As the day progressed, Will started to feel nauseous and his muscles ached. It didn't take long for Susan to notice what was happening and she pulled Will off to the side. ”Will, sweetie, I think you should go back to your room and get some sleep.”

“I don’t need to get some sleep.” He replied. “I’m fine.” 

"No, you're not." she insisted. 

Will sighed. “Do I feel kind of ragged? Sure but it’s no different than working with the flu.”

” It’s *nothing* like working with the flu. “ she argued. “Your body is coming off the aftermath of several milligrams of heroin coursing through your veins. You’re experiencing withdrawal symptoms…” 

” Susan, I’m fine!” Will interrupted forcefully. 

”No, you’re not!” she replied, sternly. “Look, you may be co-leader of this team but as someone with a degree in psychology, I have the authority to declare you unfit for duty.”

Will’s eyes narrowed slightly. “You wouldn’t.”

”Try me.” Susan responded. “Now, get out of here and get some rest. That’s an order.”

Will stared at Susan for a moment then turned to go to his hotel room. There he laid down on the bed but couldn’t sleep. He was cold, his muscles ached, he was coughing, his hands were trembling. It was exactly like what he told Susan—it felt like the flu. But he knew it wasn’t. He didn’t have time for this now. It was the middle of a mission. He should be with the team. Then he saw the bag. The one with the drugs in it. He thought about how easy it’d be. It would control his symptoms, calm him down. Then he thought about what Susan said—he was suffering from withdrawal symptoms. This is how people get addicted. That’s what his head said but he’s body was screaming something else. It didn’t make sense for him to feel this crappy in Shanghai. Once he was home, fine, then he could deal with withdrawal. He just needed to take the edge off. He looked at that bag for an eternity and decided, no he wasn't going to do it. 

The next day, Will was on pins and needles again the whole flight home. Despite trying, he couldn't sleep at all the previous night. Again, he knew it was withdrawal and just needed to ride it out. He just felt so sick. Susan was beside him, trying to talk him through. Normally, her pep talks helped him, but this time he could barely concentrate on what she was saying. Finally, they made it back to the Dead Drop. Unfortunately, the withdrawal was getting to Will. He was queasy, sweating and his heart was racing. Not only that, but Standish was getting on his last nerve prattling on about everything. When Standish started whining again about not being able to trust women after Tina, Will had enough.

“Will you shut up about it, already?” Will blurted out uncharacteristically. “So you got played! Who cares?! So have a lot of us. Just man up and deal with it already.” He then stormed off to the restroom.

He couldn’t take it anymore. He was on fire, his hands were shaking, his heart racing. He just needed to take the edge off. Just for the night. That’s all. So, he took the drugs out of his bag and prepared to inject himself. However, his arm was shaking so much, he dropped everything. Making matters worse was Frankie pounding on the door asking if he was alright. “I’m fine!” He yelled as he tried to pick everything up. “Go away!” Frankie didn’t listen though and walked right in. 

“What the hell’s this?” Frankie asked as she knelt down and picked up the syringe.

“It’s nothing.” Will answered as he tried to grab it from her.

“Nothing? Your nothing looks a lot like a syringe full of drugs.”

It’s not a big deal. I just need something tonight. That’s all.”

“No big deal? You lash out at Standish, then you come in here to shoot up. That is not normal behavior, Will. It’s something a junkie would do.”

“I’m not a junkie.” He scoffed. “Look, I’m sorry I went off on Standish. I was on edge, That’s why I came in here, to take the edge off.”

“Which is pretty much the definition of a junkie.” Frankie declared. Standing up, she flushed the drugs down the toilet and said "Get up. I’m going take you home and get you dried out.”

“Frankie, no, we have a mission…” Will began, as he stood up.

Frankie shook her head. "It's a simple surveillance gig, Will. They don't need us."

"I don't care. I'm going."

"No, Will. You're not."

"And how are you going to stop me?" Will asked defiantly, his arms crossed.

Frankie gave him him a hard look "I’ll call Director Casey and tell him one of his best agents is a drug addict. Better yet, I’ll call your parents and tell them.”

That worked. With a resigned expression on his face, Will let Frankie take him home.

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“Let’s get you to bed” Frankie said as she and Will went into his apartment.

“No” Will said, yanking his arm out of her grasp. “There’s a mission going on. We should be on comms.”

Frankie shot him an incredulous look, “Will, you’re in no condition to be on comms. You heard me talk to Susan. She’s going to tell the team you’re sick and we’re going to sit this out.”

“I don’t want to sit this out. I want to do my damned job.” Will said, forcefully. “I’m sorry.” He added, softly, rubbing his forehead.

Frankie looked at him a moment, then said, “Okay, I’ll call Standish, have him route the camera feed to your laptop so you can see what’s going on. But that’s it. I’m not putting you on comms.”

“Fine.” Will muttered. 

“Good. “Frankie replied. “Now, sit over there and turn on your laptop. I’ll get you some water.”

“I don’t want water.” He began to argue.

“I don’t care what you want.” She responded. “You’re dehydrated and we need to flush out your system. Now, go over there and sit.”

Will sat down and waited for the video feed. Soon Frankie came with a bottle of water and a butterscotch. “Here, suck on this candy, it’ll help lessen the symptoms. “ Noticing how tense Will was, Frankie began massaging his shoulders. "Just relax." she told him. Unfortunately, that was a lot easier said than done. Later, when Frankie went into the kitchen to make some tea, Will struggled to watch the video feed. Unfortunately, his body continued pulsating. He needed something to calm himself down. Just something! So, he got up and walked to the door when he heard a voice.

“Where the hell do you think you’re going?” Frankie asked.

Will stood there with his mouth open for a few seconds, “Uh, I was just going to, to go for a walk.”

“No, you weren’t. You were going to score. Now, here, take this tea and sit down.” she ordered.

Will took a sip of the tea and shot Frankie a puzzled look.

“I added some brandy. It’ll help take some of the edge off.”

As Will sat down and drank some more tea, he realized she was right. It did help take some of the edge off. Frankie continued massaging his shoulders as they watched the mission feed. Will didn’t know why he was watching. Frankie was right—he wasn’t in any condition to focus on what was going on. The only reason he was sitting there watching was pure stubbornness. He wanted to prove to Frankie that there was nothing wrong with him. That he was the same capable agent he always was. Only he was so tired. Maybe if he had something to wake him up. Then he caught himself—using one drug to counteract another? He wasn’t thinking normally. 

“Will? Will?” Will’s eyes snapped open upon hearing Frankie’s voice. He shook his head to clear it.

“Will,” Frankie continued. “The mission’s gong great. Everyone knows their jobs. You need to get some sleep.”

Will wanted to argue—to tell her he was fine. But he was so tired!! After she promised to wake him up when it was over, Will let Frankie lead him to bed.

"Will. Will. Wake up." Will heard. Opening his eyes, he saw Frankie sitting at the edge of his bed and struggled to get up. "How'd it go?"

"Fine." she answered. "It's like I said--simple surveillance. They're going to send us a full report tomorrow."

"Good." Will said.

"How do you feel?" she asked, a look of concern on her face.

"Better." he replied with a slight smile. "Thanks."

"I'm glad." she said with a smile on her face. Looking down briefly, she added. "Look, I talked to Susan. She said sometimes it can take close to week for these drugs to get out of your system. So, I asked her to bring some of my stuff so I can stay here."

"Frankie, no." he started to object. "You don't need to do that."

"Yes, I do." she replied. "You're always going on about how we're family and this is what family does. They take care of each other." Standing up, she added. "Now go back to sleep. You need your rest."

"Frankie!" Will called out before she got out the door. "Thank you, again. For everything."

Frankie shot him one of those sweet smiles that he loved so much and said "No problem, Whiskey. Now get some sleep."

After she shut the light, Will laid there thinking about Frankie saved him again. He was so close to doing something stupid and she saved him before he had a chance.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The premise of this story and much of the dialogue came from The Unit, Episodes 4.12 & 4.13 (2009)


	2. Coming Back from the edge

The next morning, Will waked into the living room surprised to see Susan with Frankie.

“Hey. Good morning.” Susan said with a big smile on her face.

Will smiled back but the smile didn’t quite reach his eyes. “Hey. You didn’t have to come.” He said as he sat down next to her.

As Frankie left to get some tea, Susan responded. “Of course, I did. I want to see how you’re doing. So, how do you feel?”

“Better.” Will said.

“Don’t give me ‘better.’ I want details. How do you feel?”

Will sighed. “Still a little queasy, achy, tired. Definitely better than yesterday though.”

“That’s to be expected.” she replied. “I mean, you were injected with some heavy duty heroin. Personally, I should have taken you home straight from the airport. We should’ve never gone to the Dead Drop.”

“It wasn’t your fault. I was being stubborn.” Will replied. Then remembering something, he covered his face, “Oh, God. Standish…” 

“Standish is fine. I told him you caught something in Shanghai and were cranky because you weren’t feeling well..” Suddenly, she perked up, “Ooh, that reminds me. I told Ray you were sick with the flu so he made chicken soup for you last night. It’s in the fridge.”

At this point, Frankie came in with some tea for Will. “Ray *made* chicken soup? I can’t wait to see that.” She scoffed.

“Trust me. He’s an amazing cook. You have no idea.” Susan said.

Will smiled because he knew that was true. 

Later, when Susan got up to leave, she said to Will. “Now don’t forget. Drink plenty of fluids and get plenty of rest. I’ll call you later to check up on you.”

“Susan,” Will argued. “You don’t need to check up on me. I’m not going to do something stupid. I promise.” 

“I know.” Susan said, “But I’m still going to check up you. Take care, carino. I’ll talk to you later.”

After she left, Frankie asked what Will wanted for breakfast.

“I’m not real hungry.” He replied, rubbing his stomach.

“Too bad.” she replied. “You need to build your energy. Now, unlike supposedly Ray, I can’t cook. But I can handle oatmeal. Is that good?”

Will nodded. “That’ll be fine. Thanks.” 

After breakfast, Frankie asked Will if he needed anything.

“Frankie, I’m fine.” He answered a tad defensively. “You don’t need to baby me.”

“Hey, you’re my partner.” she replied. “That means it’s my job to take care of you. Beside, you know if things were reversed you’d be doing the same to me. Now, again, do you need anything?”

“I’m a little cold.” Will admitted. As Frankie got him a blanket, Will called Standish and apologized for going off on him. The younger agent was completely understanding saying “Besides, you have a point. If I’m going do this spy thing, I probably need to have a thicker skin.” 

Later, Will and Frankie sat in the living room where they watched a rom com. When the movie was over, Frankie saw the pensive look on Will’s face.

“Hey,” she said, getting his attention. “What are you thinking about?”

Will put his head back in a frustrated sigh, “What I almost did yesterday. I was an idiot and because of that, you have to babysit me.”

“I’m not babysitting you.” Frankie insisted. “Look, what happened yesterday. I get it. I’ve been through it.” Off his puzzled look, she clarified, “Okay, not *that* but I know what’s in like to be in pain and want to do whatever it takes to get rid of it. Sure, my pain was more emotional, but I understand you wanting it to go away.”

The next few days were more of the same. Frankie took care of Will, Susan would either call or pop in, sometimes with food from Ray which Frankie had to admit was surprisingly good. As the days went by, Will started to feel better and better. His symptoms were lessening and he was beginning to feel like his old self again. 

“Well, that stuff should definitely be out of your system by now..” Susan reported at the end of the week after she checked him out. “How do you feel? Any residual effects? Any queasiness? Discomfort?”

“I’m fine, Doctor.” Will said. Off Susan’s glare, he added, “I promise. Frankie took great care of me.”

“Well,” Susan replied. “I’d say you should be able to return to work in a day or two.” She then stood up, “Now, if you’ll excuse me, I’ll leave you alone with Nurse Trowbridge.” 

After Susan left, Will said to Frankie, “Listen, I know I said this before—but thanks. You saved me. Plus, the way you stayed here and took care of me, I …” 

“Hey,” Frankie interrupted, “You saved me back when I was shot in France. I’m just returning the favor, partner.” She then shot him one of those warm smiles and added, "Besides, I am really, really glad you're okay." 

Their eyes locked for a brief moment. However, this wasn’t the time. Not now, not like this. But for an instant, Will realized that having Frankie take care of him, wasn’t so bad. At the same moment, though she wouldn’t admit it out loud, Frankie realized that taking care of Will wasn’t exactly the worst thing. In fact, it felt right.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This little chapter was inspired by Nickell47 who was curious about how the rest of the week went.


End file.
